Motorola’s new Razr hinges fail after 27,000 folds in the durability test

The resurrected Motorola Razr was ready to face Samsung's Galaxy Fold in the battle of folding smartphones, but a test of durability may suggest otherwise.

Samsung's phone proved to withstand 200,000 folds before showing any damage, but a new test showed that the Razr's lifetime ends at 27,000.

CNET He performed the experiment with his ‘FoldBot and after thousands of quick folds and only three hours, the Razr's hinge was failing and it didn't completely close the folding device.

However, despite the folding problems, the smartphone screen was still fully functional.

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Motorola has not provided an exact number of how many folds the Razr can support, unlike Samsung, which claims its Fold can survive 200,000, but said the phone should work for two years.

The firm also offers a one-year warranty for "defects incurred during normal use."

Motorola introduced the new redesigned foldable phone in November 2019.

The phone has a 6.2-inch folding screen, which folds in half to close in the same way as older phones with cover.

The updated Motorola device has replaced the physical keyboard with a folding screen that fills the entire interior of the phone.

CNET used his & # 39; FoldBot & # 39; to perform the durability test

When it closed, Motorola said the new Razr also has a 2.7-inch quick view screen in which users can see and respond to notifications.

Chris Parker, of CNET, organized the experiment live on Friday, which placed a new Razr in a machine that opened and closed continuously.

However, as The edge notes, there seems to be some skepticism around the test.

The robot seemed to be closing the phone only occasionally, which might suggest that the hinge ran out earlier than previously believed.

Samsung's phone proved to support 200,000 folds before showing any damage, but a new test showed that the Razr's lifetime ends at 27,000

CNET conducted the experiment with its ‘FoldBot and after thousands of quick folds and only three hours, the Razr hinge was failing and did not completely close the folding device

Parker also noted that the machine may not have been properly calibrated to fold the Razr, since the company that set it up did not have a phone to test it.

This is the second folding torture test that CNET performed on a folding device, after it tested the Galaxy Fold in October last year.

That time, Samsung's phone survived about 120,000 times before its screen broke.

That is much longer than the Razr, although it still did not reach the 200,000 folds promised by Samsung.

In addition to the folding problems, other reviewers have shared videos that reveal how the Razr "creaks and groans when folded."

And a BBC News video showed how easy it is to put the smartphone's plastic screen into operation, which is an easy way for dust and dirt to seep into the hardware.

Motorola said the design is the first of its kind, but it follows other folding devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Fold, which opens vertically like a book to reveal a large tablet-like screen inside the phone.

Unlike Samsung's Galaxy Fold, the Razr claims to be splash proof, with a stronger screen.

Users can expect the device to work with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 710 processor, which has a 2,730 mAh battery, 4 GB or 6 GB of RAM and 64 GB or 128 GB of storage.

Motorola has not provided an exact number of how many folds the Razr can support, unlike Samsung, which claims its Fold can survive 200,000, but said the phone should work for two years.

The phone has a 6.2-inch folding screen, which folds in half to close in the same way as older phones with cover.

After the presentation in November, industry expert Ru Bhikha of uSwitch.com said the Razr is nostalgic, but warned that it may not have the high-end features to compete with flagship phones in the mobile market .

Bhikha said: & # 39; Some brands dominate their markets so completely that their names become synonymous with the entire industry. The vacuum cleaners are & # 39; Hoovers & # 39; and perform a search on the Internet is & # 39; Google & # 39;

“ The original Motorola Razr was such an iconic design that, even now, when you think of a folding phone, it automatically reminds you of the classic folding phone from the mid-1990s.

& # 39; The Razr cannot compete with the performance of rivals of similar prices, since it has a single rear camera of 16 mega pixels compared to the configuration of three lenses of the iPhone 11 that includes a telephoto lens and two wide lenses.

"The device is also less powerful in the CPU and battery departments due to design constraints, so we are skeptical that users can spend the day on a single charge."

What problems did the last folding phone have to hit the market?

Samsung introduced the $ 2,000 Galaxy Fold with great fanfare in February.

But journalists who received review units before Fold's launch in late April reported that they experienced problems with the interior screen.

After only one or two days of use, users said the screen began to flicker and turn black before becoming completely unusable.

The South Korean tech giant put the launch of the Galaxy Fold on hold after the reviewers found problems with the device's innovative folding screen, but launched the device updated in September.

Journalists who received review units before the launch of Fold reported that they experienced problems with the interior screen. The screen would blink and turn black

The problems are believed to come from the hinge that causes too much pressure on the screen.

Some said they had removed a protective layer on the screen that was supposed to remain on.

Meanwhile, others said they did not remove the protective film, but the device still stopped working.

YouTube user Marques Brownlee said he removed the protective film and his device began to have problems.

A warning on the Galaxy Fold package tells users not to remove the protective layer, according to a photo posted by T-Mobile Senior Product Manager, Desmond Smith.

"The main screen includes a special protective layer," he says. & # 39; Peeling the protective layer or using adhesives on the main screen, such as screen protectors or stickers, can cause damage & # 39 ;.

Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman said his Galaxy Fold started working abnormally after he removed the movie and eventually became unusable.

In addition, YouTube user Marques Brownlee said he removed the protective film and his device began to have problems.

But Dieter Bohn, executive editor of the technology news site. The edgeHe says he left that layer on and his screen still broke.

The problems raised questions about whether or not the Galaxy Fold can withstand normal use.